Seahawks | Tapp takes it to the mountain top

The two sacks Sunday marked a high point for defensive end Darryl Tapp.

Just don't say he reached his peak with that pair of plays during the Seahawks' exhibition opener in San Diego. That actually happened one afternoon earlier this summer when Tapp joined teammate Patrick Kerney for a mountain hike with assistant head coach Jim Mora.

At least Tapp expected a hike.

"I was hoodwinked," he says now, laughing.

Tapp brought a knapsack for the trip. A gallon of water and some snacks, too. He even carried his iPod.

"You don't need all that," Mora told Tapp when he unpacked the car.

No picnic on this day. The plan was to run up Cougar Mountain, a peak to the southeast of I-405 and I-90. It's a workout Mora learned from former Huskies teammate Mark Pattison and one that caused Tapp to do a double take.

"That first 100 or so yards it's just straight up," Tapp said. "It's a path, but it's really not a path. It's all dirt."

The 1,595-foot peak became a proving ground for the Seahawks this offseason. Mora brought Jordan Babineaux a time or two. Marcus Trufant, too. But defensive backs are supposed to be able to run all day. It's in their job description. Tapp and Kerney carried the additional weight of defensive linemen for the vertical challenge.

"It's a totally different kind of conditioning than what you do for football," Kerney said. "We're used to short bursts, not steady climbs. It caught me."

Tapp was a rookie last season, a defensive end on the small side of things, which meant he fit right into the mold of a defensive line built more around speed and effort than size. He had three sacks and returned an interception for a touchdown. So far this training camp he is competing to become a more consistent part of the Seahawks' playing rotation after an offseason of conditioning that included one run up a mountain.

Tapp kept up for the first 500 yards and then drifted to the back. His lungs felt tighter, his legs grew heavier and his steps shrunk. Tapp was three quarters of the way to the top when the rest of the group passed him headed down. They encouraged him to turn around and head to the bottom with them.

No way Tapp was turning back.

"I have come all this way," Tapp said. "I'm going to the top."

He had another 400 yards or so remaining to go.

"So I just took off running," Tapp said. "Stayed there for a second, saw the scenery, took a breath and went back down."

Tapp reached the bottom 70 minutes after he started. The high point of his offseason workout is something he plans to revisit.

"That's definitely going to be a year-in, year-out thing," Tapp said.

Tubbs returns

The twists in Marcus Tubbs' hair are gone, shaved off and replaced by a Mohawk. It's his presence at defensive tackle that really provides a makeover to the line, though. Tubbs practiced for the first time this season, activated from the physically unable to perform list. He is recovering from microfracture surgery on his left knee, which he had in November.

Tubbs played in the first three games last season before undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his knee in September. He played two games after coming back before the knee flared up, necessitating the microfracture surgery.

"It came to the point where that operation is kind of just what I needed," Tubbs said. "I knew rehab would be a long process."

The Seahawks allowed an average of 82 yards rushing in the five games Tubbs played in 2006 and 147.2 in the 11 he missed.

Coach Mike Holmgren said the target is for Tubbs to play in the third exhibition game, which is against Minnesota on Aug. 25.

Notes

• The Seahawks signed DeJuan Groce, a defensive back who played with New Orleans last season. They released punter Kyle Stringer to make room for Groce on the training-camp roster.

• Left tackle Walter Jones' shoulder was sore after he played in the first half of Sunday's game in San Diego. He did not practice Tuesday and might not play in the remaining exhibition games. Holmgren said Jones will do cardiovascular conditioning drills and light weight lifting and allow the shoulder to "quiet down."

• Right tackle Sean Locklear was diagnosed with tendinitis in his knee. He underwent a magnetic-resonance image test Monday, which detected no tears. He did not practice Tuesday.

• FB David Kirtman (broken hand), OL Floyd Womack (hamstring), LB Niko Koutouvides (chest contusion), DT Craig Terrill (knee) and LB Leroy Hill (hamstring) practiced Tuesday.

• The Seahawks were down to three healthy tight ends at practice because Leonard Stephens, Ben Joppru (hip) and Will Heller (ankle) did not practice. CB Josh Wilson (heel), DB Jordan Babineaux (bone bruise) and WR Courtney Taylor (knee) also did not practice.

Danny O'Neil: 206-464-2364 or doneil@seattletimes.com